I. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to shaping means employed in the fabrication of tires and more particularly to a shaping turret having a plurality of workstations adapted to perform various functions of the shaping operation. Specifically, the instant invention relates to a shaping turret employing an upper structure carrying a plurality of bladderless shaping drums or flanges which are driven and controlled by means requiring only one rotary coupling between the upper structure and its associated base.
II. Description of the Prior Art
Turret type machines are old in the art as exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 2,618,982 to Mead which discloses a rotary work feeder which may be used for supporting in a desired position a plurality of different work pieces and for successively moving such work pieces into position for processing; U.S. Pat. No. 3,999,264 to Carmen which discloses a rotatable tool holding turret of the type adapted for use with a lathe or the like and U.S. Pat. No. 4,285,259 to Jelinek, et al., which discloses a semi-automatic electro-mechanical arrangement for indexing turrets in a punching machine o the like.
Turret type machines have also been used in the fabrication of tires as exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 3,223,573 to Deist which discloses a rotatable turret assembly, the turret carrying a rotatable mandrel which supports the tire carcass or body during application of the rubber material thereto; U.S. Pat. No. 3,775,220 to Rattray which discloses a means for mounting a plurality of bases on a central shaft and means for rotating the central shaft to advance the bases through a succession of stations for applying components to the bases; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,126,506 to Marosan which relates to a material handling apparatus programmed to selectively load a conveyor with tires in a sequence corresponding to the loading sequence required by a cluster of recapping machines.
The prior art utilizing a turret or similar arrangement to facilitate the transporting of drums between workstations includes U.S. Pat. No. 1,964,363 to Ostling, et al., which discloses an endless chain conveyor adapted to carry tire building drums and accessory mechanisms along a track and in a continuous motion, while operators apply material and perform certain manual operations thereon; U.S. Pat. No. 2,071,716 to Wikle which discloses an apparatus employing a continuous circular platform which carries tire building machines rather than having the machines mounted on separate bases; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,253,781 to Haase, et al., which shows a plurality of tire building machines arranged in a group, conveying means for supplying the operators at the machines with the proper material when required, and servicing means for supplying material to the conveyor and other servicing means for removing finished tires therefrom.
Although some of the art discussed above does disclose a turret type arrangement used in the construction of a tire, none of the above-noted art discloses a shaping turret having drums adapted to receive from a transfer mechanism the green tire carcass and tread assembly wherein the means for driving and controlling the rotatable upper structure of the turret is greatly simplified.
There is, therefore, a need for an apparatus which is readily adapted to receive green tire carcasses and tread assemblies from a transfer device and apply them to a drum in order to combine the two components and provide the final shaping of the tire. There is also a need for providing such an apparatus having a greatly simplified drive and a greatly simplified control means for the rotatable upper structure of the turret.